WA Nats preference Greens before Liberals

The spurned WA Nationals have retaliated to the Liberals' preference deal with One Nation by putting the Greens ahead of their alliance partners in two out of three upper house regions in next month's state election.

The alliance partners' relationship continues to crumble with the Nationals placing one of the government's cabinet members, Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Lewis, behind Greens MP Robin Chapple in the Mining and Pastoral region.

In the South West, the Nationals preferenced the Greens' Diane Evers above three out of four Liberal candidates.

The Nationals are furious and see the Liberals' deal to preference One Nation in the upper house in return for lower house preferences as a betrayal that adds to the already formidable threat the populist right-wing party poses to it.

WA leader Brendon Grylls called it a "slap in the face".

The Nationals defended their retaliatory move, pointing out they had still allocated their first preferences to the Liberal Party guaranteeing at least one candidate would be elected, "which they haven't done for us," WA Nationals spokesman Nathan Quigley told AAP.

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The Nationals' federal leader and deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said a state election preferences war in WA was inevitable after the Liberals' action.

"It's all retaliation," Mr Joyce told Sky News.

"This is what happens when you start picking on your business partner or your girlfriend - one person scratches and the other scratches back. I don't think they are outcomes you want."

WA Liberal Premier Colin Barnett repeated his view on Tuesday that he thinks One Nation is more moderate and not racist - federal minister Arthur Sinodinos similarly described them as sophisticated - but then admitted he didn't know if their policies were any different.

"I don't even know what their policies are ... it (the preference deal) has got nothing to do with policy at all," Mr Barnett told reporters.

"It is a mathematical process to maximise support for the Liberal Party and continue to provide terrific government for Western Australia.

One Nation is set to overtake the Greens and be the third most popular party at the March 11 election.

It has policies that include a ban on Muslim immigration and a royal commission into whether it should be called a religion, reductions in immigration and protectionist economic policies to support jobs.

Mr Barnett refused to say if he thought that was racist saying "go and ask One Nation".

The Nationals' retaliation involving the Greens backed his view that a preference deal did not mean he was endorsing One Nation or was influenced by it's policies, he said.

"The Greens are vehemently opposed to live animal exports," he told reporters.

"Do you think the National party are now going to be opposed to live animal exports."

The Nationals have preferenced other parties above the Liberals such as the Shooters and Fishers, Liberal Democrats and Australian Christians but to include the Greens is unusual.

One Nation opposes Liberal plans to cut WA's record debt by privatising assets such as Western Power and its leader Colin Tincknell says if the party wins the balance of power it will block those sales.